Mitten holding, stretching and shaping device



July 2, 1963 F. .1. SCHUMACHER 3,

MITTEN HOLDING, STRETCHING AND SHAPING DEVICE Filed NOV. 25, 1959 INVENTOZ fled J J'chumdd e? HTTORNEYS United States Patent 3,096,008 WTTEN i-IOLDHJG, STRETCHRNG AND SHAHNG DEVIE Fred 3. Schumacher, 798 S. Wenona Ava, Bay City, Mich. Filed Nov. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 854,898 1 Claim. (Cl. 22378) This invention relates to a mitten holding, stretching and shaping device and more particularly to a frame for hold'mg and stretching wet mittens during the drying period to prevent shrinkage and undersizing of the mittens when dry.

One of the prime objects of the invention is to design a mitten form and base on which a mitten can be mounted and stretched for drying purposes, and provide means for catching the drain from said mittens to eliminate small pools of water from collecting on the table or other support on which the base is placed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a base with multiple forms thereon to accommodate a plurality of mittens, and provide means for securing said forms against rotation on said base.

A further object is to design a simple, practical and economical mitten form assembly which accommodates a plurality of mittens, and in which the drip or moisture is collected in a trough in the base for evaporation in the room in which the drying takes place.

' Still a further object is to provide a simple base formed of metal, or other suitable material, which can be placed in a low temperature oven or on a radiator, without danger of scorching the mittens, thus accelerating the drying operation without shrinkage or wrinkling, and maintaining a goodly supply of dry mittens at all times.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, but more particularly pointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an edge elevational view of my mitten form assembly.

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the base thereof with the one form shown broken away to expose the form securing member.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary inverted plan view, illustrating the form foot and the means for anchoring the mitten form.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 2, with a mitten in position on the form.

Referring now to the drawing in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention.

A numeral 8 indicates the base of the assembly which is preferably rectangular in shape. It can be formed of metal, plastic or any other suitable material, and can be hollow or solid as desired. A plurality of mitten forms F are mounted on this base 8 in spaced-apart relation, and the upper face of the base is formed with a trough-shaped groove 9 to catch any drippings when Wet,

or soggy mittens are placed on the forms, and the trough is continuous aroundthe face of the base and is of a size sufficient to take care of any and all moisture drip from the mittens.

The forms F are made up of spring wire to simulate a mitten, and each is formed with a horizontally-disposed, preferably U-shaped foot loop portion 10, having a vertically-extending leg 11. Thence the wire is offset as at 12, extending upwardly to form a thumb portion 14, which when in use, extends into the thumb of the mitten M and thence the form is shaped to conform to the body portion 15 of the mitten, the side 16 being readily sprung to accommodate mittens of various sizes, and the free end being coiled as at 17, to eliminate any sharp corners or edges, so that the mittens can be easily and smoothly placed on and/ or removed from the form without snagging. It is, of course, desirable that the forms be mounted and held against rotative movement so that the individual mittens do not come into contact with each other to permit free circulation of air therebetween and around said mitten as they are being dried.

Each mounting comprises an inverted, cup-shaped housing C in which the U-shaped foot loop portion 10 is inserted, the width of the U-shaped section, and the length of the free end 18 of the foot being such that the foot is sprung into position in the cup-shaped section and firmly grips the side wall 19 of the cup to prevent rotation with respect thereto. A vertically-disposed passage 20 is provided in the side wall of the cup and extends into the upper face thereof to accommodate the leg 11 of the foot 10, and a screw member 21 serves to secure this cup firmly in position and to clamp the loop portion 10 against the base 8.

The fact that the foot loop portion 10 resiliently engages the side wall of the cup member which is in turn clamped against the base serves to rigidly secure the form in position.

The wire form F is formed of resilient material, and the leg 16 has suflicient flexibility to adjust itself to mittens of various sizes and lengths, so that there will be no distortion, wrinkling, or malformation during the drying process.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that I have perfected a very simple, practical and economical mitten holding and stretching device for use in drying wet, soggy mittens of all kinds.

What I claim is:

A wet mitten holding, stretching, drying and shaping device comprising a base; said base having an upper surface with a recessed area providing a gathering place for moisture dripping down; a row of vertically disposed wire mitten forms mounted on said base in spaced apart, side-by-side disposition; each mitten form comprising a resilient wire, with an intermediate generally U-shaped portion shaped to generally simulate a mitten in upright position, and terminal ends; one of said terminal ends of each form comprising a leg extending down to said base and having a lateral foot loop portion thereon and the other of said terminal ends terminating at a spaced distance above the base in a free loop portion in a vertical plane disposed inward of the wire portion above it; a hollow, cup-shaped member snugly embracing the foot loop of each form and having an opening in the wall thereof disposed at generally right angles to the plane r 0 of the row of forms and permitting said one wire leg to extend upwardly from the cup-shaped member covering its foot loop; and means for clamping each cup-shaped member to the base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 246,822 Robinson Sept. 6, 1881 

